new QF Domestic A330-200

[Fly_by_wire]

Qantas Introduces New A330-200
Sydney, 02 December 2009

Qantas introduced its brand new A330-200 aircraft to the domestic network today, offering passengers new seating and personal on-demand inflight entertainment in all cabins.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the aircraft represents a new era of flying for the Qantas domestic experience.
“For the first time Qantas will operate a domestic aircraft featuring state-of-the-art in-seat entertainment for all customers,” Mr Joyce said.
“The on-demand Panasonic eX2 system has over five hundred entertainment options including movies, TV programs, a CD library, games, a dedicated children’s section, plus Qantas Lonely Planet Guides as seen on the A380. Each seat offers touch screen functionality to enhance interactive capabilities.”
The spacious A330 aircraft is configured with 36 Business and 265 Economy seats. Qantas Creative Director Marc Newson has collaborated with Qantas to style new seats with an enhanced focus on customer comfort.
Business passengers will enjoy an exclusive wide seatback design, an extra wide seat width of 22 inches, cocktail table, ergonomic cushions and extendable leg rest with fold out footrest.
Economy passengers will also enjoy an increased focus on comfort with an extra wide 18.1” seat width, ergonomic seat cushioning and a seat base that moves in conjunction with the seat recline.
Customers can also take advantage of an individual USB port in every seat to enable charging of personal electronic devices, and PC power.
The aircraft has been named the ‘Tamar Valley’ after the renowned Tasmanian wine region. The second A330-200, named after South Australia’s Clare Valley, is scheduled to arrive in February next year.
The aircraft operated its inaugural service QF575 between Sydney and Perth this morning and will continue to operate on trans-continental flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
The same product has recently been introduced on the new B737-800 aircraft operating trans-Tasman and has received positive reviews from customers. Qantas will continue to roll this inflight entertainment product out on all new aircraft entering the domestic network.

About Qantas - Media Room - Media Releases (http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2009/dec09/3983)

Still waiting for the clapped out trans-tasman jetconnect 734s to be replaced- disgrace to the airline imo....

[OneDotLow]

Still waiting for the clapped out trans-tasman jetconnect 734s to be replaced- disgrace to the airline imo....

You're taking the piss aren't you, FBW?

Qantas' New Trans-Tasman Fleet to Honour New Zealand Icons
Auckland, 22 September 2009
Qantas today officially welcomed the first of its new Boeing 737-800 aircraft into service, and announced that it would be named in honour of pioneer aviatrix Jean Batten.
The following two new aircraft in the trans-Tasman fleet will be named after iconic New Zealanders Sir William Hudson and Katherine Mansfield.
Qantas Regional General Manager New Zealand, Mr Grant Lilly, said Qantas will have three of the new aircraft flying trans-Tasman routes by mid-October, with the remainder to arrive by 2011.
"These new aircraft will become the flagship of our trans-Tasman fleet. They are New Zealand registered and based, and will be operated by New Zealand based pilots and cabin crew. We believe it is only fitting to recognise this by naming these aircraft after three truly great New Zealanders, who, in their individual fields, cemented strong links between Australia and New Zealand," he said.
"These pioneers also sought to bring the unique culture of New Zealand to the world, and for us here at Qantas, we like to think we also play a part in this. It is undeniable that Jean Batten, Sir William Hudson and Katherine Mansfield, were pioneers in exporting New Zealand skills and culture on a global scale."
Mr Lilly said it was a privilege for him to present a plaque to relatives of both Jean Batten and Sir William Hudson, and representatives of Auckland's Katherine Mansfield Society, commemorating the naming of the first three aircraft.
"We have twenty-two relatives of the late Jean Batten here today as part of this celebration, and also the daughter and grandson of the late Sir William Hudson, and a representative of the Katherine Mansfield Society here in Auckland who have taken up the very important cause of ensuring one of our greatest writers receives the recognition she deserves, both here and abroad.
"Aircraft have come a very long way since Jean Batten broke her records, and we are confident that our new fleet will showcase the best of modern onboard technology and design."
He added that some of the features of the new aircraft include:
* A 12-seat Business class and 156-seat Economy configuration
* Individual state-of-the-art Panasonic Inflight Entertainment on Demand system in both Business and Economy with over 300 entertainment options
* 10.6 inch in arm touch screen in Business
* 9 inch seatback touch screen in Economy
* Marc Newson styled seating design with a 22 inch width and 37 inch seat pitch in Business and a 17 inch width and 30 inch seat pitch in Economy, ergonomic cushions and adjustable headrest; and
* PC and USB ports in both Business and Economy to facilitate computers, MP3 players and other technology.
The Qantas B737-800 will initially fly on Auckland-Sydney and Auckland-Melbourne routes.

About Qantas - Media Room - Media Releases - Qantas' New Trans-Tasman Fleet to Honour New Zealand Icons (http://www.qantas.com.au/regions/dyn/au/publicaffairs/details?ArticleID=2009/sep09/3957)

[chimbu warrior]

I'm left wondering why Qantas needs a domestic aircraft that can carry over 20 hours fuel. Either the A330-200 is very slow (even a Cherokee can get to Perth in less than 20 hours), or Australia is getting bigger..............:confused:

[Capt Claret]

Chimbu, hedging against the xmas refueller's strike. :8

[Fly_by_wire]

No, OneDotLow I'm not...

Qantas will have three of the new aircraft flying trans-Tasman routes by mid-October, with the remainder to arrive by 2011.

2011!!!!!! :ugh:

Like I said, Qantas as a premium world leading airline operating these 734's is a disgrace to the brand. But hey, they are still full so why would they bother leasing something else as a stop-gap before the arrival of the remaining 738s.

Sorry for the thread drift.

[Fly_by_wire]

I'm left wondering why Qantas needs a domestic aircraft that can carry over 20 hours fuel. Either the A330-200 is very slow (even a Cherokee can get to Perth in less than 20 hours), or Australia is getting bigger............

It does seem stange. Im no expert of airframe purchasing or airline policy but even joe bloggs on the street can notice Qantas seems to be making/have made some VERY strange airframe choices.

Were these 330's always pegged for Q domestic or were they going to be for Jetstar prior to GFC?

[Capt Kremin]

I think the point is that they can go to either.

A couple of years ago, before the "stolen generation", a huge chunk of QF's profit was generated by A330's on the Perth run. By buying a 300 seat aircraft that can be easily converted to International ops for Jetstar they get a flexible aircraft and a profit maker.

The 20 hour endurance is a furphy in that the max range with full payload is about only 12.5 hours. There is no alternate available at that endurance however. The IGW's will allow an alternate, which is the reason the Jetstar -200's have been limited to regional ops so far.

[OneDotLow]

FBW,

Qantas will have three of the new aircraft flying trans-Tasman routes by mid-October, with the remainder to arrive by 2011.

"It wont happen overnight, but it will happen" : As one formerly prominent kiwi once said. New aircraft deliveries tend not to arrive all at once. I would think that a trickle of aircraft over the next 13 months (thats all it is until 2011 remember) would be appropriate.

As for lack of investment in product, ACROSS THE WHOLE QF BRAND, that is an issue where our views are aligned....

[who_cares]

I see QF will take delivery of 3 737-800s next year, maybe they will go to Jetconnect and replace the last of the classics.

[another superlame]

Now if only they could replace the 767s yesterday or earlier then they might be on a winner. I reckon the 767 fleet is a disgrace to the airline. No interior or IFE upgrades and they still have the hide to charge a premium price when they fly them to Hawaii.

[Taildragger67]

another superlame,

At the risk of a flaming, I think it's fair to say they're onto that and have been for some time, but the planned replacement will only take its first flight this month, if we're lucky...

I wouldn't have ordered new IFE either if I thought it was only going to be in for a couple of years and then the a/c scrapped. I'd like to think that if, when they ordered 787s, QF knew the actual delivery dates, they would've upgraded the 767 interiors at that time - but 787 delivery has been pushed back and pushed back since then. Who knows, maybe they would've ordered some new 767 airframes in order to be able to retire the oldest in the fleet.

Actually maybe they should've demanded that as part of the compensation package...

[another superlame]

Taildragger I agree with you about the 787, I know this is not QFs doing but Dixon put all QFs eggs into the 787 basket and now they are struggling with products due to this.
Personally I think the 787 is a pipe dream and even if it does fly it wont be in QF service for another 5 years. Maybe some new build 767s would be a worthwhile investment. The old fleet are crap and the interior which is all the customer sees is so out of date,it is embarrasing when all the LCCs are flying new and more modern a/c.
The only thing the 767s have going for them is reliability for the most part.

[Fly_by_wire]

As for the 767s, if they really cared, at the first sniff of 787 delays they would have leased a couple of 777's or something for a few years as a stopgap, the penalties from the 787 would have paid towards the cost anyway.

I maintain that they have kept the 734's on BN-AKL as they have excellent passenger yields and there is bugger all premium airline competition on this route, with most of the other big guns flying across the ditch from SYD..

[Keg]

Stop bagging out my baby! :( :sad: :{

We're all going to have to put up with them for another four or five years yet! :eek:

[QF94]

I wouldn't have ordered new IFE either if I thought it was only going to be in for a couple of years and then the a/c scrapped.

Why not, they did it with the 743's, and look where they all ended up! Wasting so much money in order to keep up a brand name!

[Short_Circuit]

QF upgraded the ZX's A/C with new IFE, why not the rest of the younger OG's

[AlJassmi]

Stop bagging out my baby!

We're all going to have to put up with them for another four or five years yet!

I'll throw you a bone Keg. From an ATC perspective I like the 767. They actually get up and go. I'll trust them for an immediate departure, unlike some other companies flying French products who take an eternity on the runway or do some sort of annoying noise abatement (i presume) climb at 140kt, or both - get outta my airspace!

[Taildragger67]

Keg,

Mate whenever I see a 76 parked at my gate I'm a happy punter - solid, reliable, standard aircraft; does what it says on the tin. I was certainly not bagging, be it regarded as a baby or a bit of an old tart (given how much the type has got around over the years... ). :ok:

As for the 787, it ain't called the 'Dreamliner' for nuttin'...

[Keg]

Alj, we aim to please! :ok:

Taily, an accurate summation.....most days! :}

[regitaekilthgiwt]

By chance flew in J on the new 330-200 recently. Seat wasn't as comfortable as the older business class seats (maybe they need to be worn in?!) but the inflight entertainment and 2 2 2 (as opposed to 2 3 2:eek:) across more than made up for it. Great to see some pride and money being finally spent on the domestic product.

As for the 767, its obvious that many on em are going to be flying for another 4 - 5 years yet. Sorry management - bite the bullet and upgrade the interiors, you won't like it but its a more sound decision that waiting for an aircraft that hasn't left the ground yet..:rolleyes: